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Man, last night was rough, wasn’t it? Just as it seemed Tech was storming back, hell they even tied the game, it was ripped away. The worst part is, Texas Tech just didn’t make the plays they needed to win the game.
Before we get to the ending though, let’s talk about the rest of the game first. Tech started this game red hot, jumping out to a 13-8 lead at the under 16 timeout in the first half. Sounds familiar, right? Well, than this next part will sound familiar too. Tech would go into the under 12 timeout down 15-22, with all the momentum gone.
Tech eventually would settle in and the score at halftime would be 36-34 in favor of Oklahoma State. They got some momentum and things seemed to be shifting in the right direction for the Red Raiders.
That was until halftime was over...
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Tech’s start to the second half was abysmal. OSU would race out to a 52-38 lead before Mark Adams would be forced to take a timeout. After that though, Tech was off an running. Kerwin Walton would kick off the run with a 3, and after that De’Vion Harmon just took over.
#23 in red was making everything happen for the Red Raiders. He was getting to the rim, making jumpers, and helping this team fight back. Tech was inching back, but it wasn’t until the final 2 minutes that Tech would finally tie the game up.
Then the inevitable happened. Tech would force an OSU miss, only to have John-Michael Wright come flying in untouched for the game-winning bucket off the offensive rebound.
Man does this one hurt. Tech stormed back and it finally looked like they were gonna get that second Big 12 win, and possibly put themselves in a position to move forward with some tournament hope, and all of that was gone in a matter of seconds.
I took down some game notes, so let's go over them.
The Good:
- Jaylon Tyson: Tyson Finished the game with 20 points and really looked like a star throughout. He seems to be blossoming into the on court leader that Tech has desperately needed through this tough time
- De’Vion Harmon: Harmon was getting big bucket after big bucket and helped Tech storm back to tie the game with under 20 seconds left. He is showing his senior leadership out there in games like this one and the Iowa State game.
- Elijah Fisher: This dude is a menace on defense. On the last possession he was lock down on Bryce Thompson and forced a miss, and people might forget that due to what happened after.
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The Bad:
- Sending guys to the FT line: Tech committed a ton of fouls down in the paint. While OSU didn't shoot great from the line, they still made more FTs than Tech attempted, that is not a recipe for success
- Halftime Adjustments: I say this, but what I really mean is, where were they? They were non-existent. Tech was down 14 less than 7 minutes into the half after being down 2 at halftime. Thats terrible and unacceptable.
- Turnovers: Tech had 16 turnovers and some were just putrid. Our guards at times were making some really dumb mistakes and gave OSU a ton of opportunities to get points off of lazy passes and turnovers.
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The Ugly
- DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING: This is the main trend every single game. Tech allowed 14 offensive rebounds and 1 being in the last second of the game. That is unacceptable. Put a body on someone and go get the damn ball.
- Half court offense: Offensively this team was just not good most the game. The offense was stagnant, nobody was moving and shots were hard to come by. Our best offense was created by isos or fast break opportunities.
- Forcing Turnovers: OSU only turned the ball over 10 times and it’s what ultimately won them the game. Tech basketball has been built on chaos on the defensive end and forcing mistakes, this years team just hasn’t done that, and it’s why we’re seeing them lose games.
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At the end of the day, this game was very winnable. Instead, Tech drops to 1-10 in conference and very little hope for the rest of this season. What were your thoughts on this game? Let me know in the comments.
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